Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Total Recall) announced on a Dutch radio program (“Met Het Oog Op Morgen”) that he will direct a sequel to 1999’s The Thomas Crown Affair titled The Topkapi Affair. The sequel will be based on the 1964 MGM film Topkapi, and the Eric Ambler novel which it was based on, titled “The Light of the Day.” Pierce Brosnan is signed on to return. Rene Russo will not however, and instead Angelina Jolie is said to be attached to the film. The Topkapi Affair has been in development since 2002.

The 1999 heist film was a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. The movie starred Pierce Brosnan as Thomas Crown, a self-made billionaire who steals a painting and is tracked by an insurance investigator (Rene Russo). The film made $124.3 million worldwide.

The official book plot description follows: When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with city and in need of a private driver. In other words, the perfect mark for Simpson’s brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson riffling his wallet for traveler’s checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. Then, when he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey’s notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something both less sinister and much, much more audacious.